The present invention generally relates to clocks and time keeping apparatuses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a time keeping apparatus specifically designed for monitoring employee time, such as at a job construction site or the like.
It is common practice for employees to “clock-in” and “clock-out” when checking in and checking out of work, such as when arriving at work, taking a lunch break and leaving for the day. The use of time clocks for tracking the time when an employee checks in and checks out is common place.
However, an employee or supervisor must collect the time cards at the end of the shift or work period (usually every week or two) and calculate the hours worked each day for each employee. This is a time consuming and expensive task. Moreover, in some work environments, such as a construction job site, it is difficult to monitor when employees check in and check out. This is due to the fact that such work sites are often outdoors and not conducive to the traditional time clock apparatuses. A company can lose thousands of dollars per year when employees arrive fifteen minutes late and leave fifteen minutes early, but do not reflect it on the written timesheets.
Applicant, ExakTime, Inc., currently offers a time attendance clock which is particularly suited for outdoor use, such as at job construction sites and the like, and which overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks. The time clock apparatus is sold under the Jobclock™ name, and was modeled after an electronic lock disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,600. The Jobclock™ includes a touch button detector, which detects touch buttons owned by each employee. When the touch button is brought into contact with the clock, the identity of the employee and the time is saved in an electronic record. Checking in and checking out can be tracked over time. A hand-held device, such as a Palm Pilot or the like, can be used to retrieve the data. The data is then processed through a software program to generate a report of the employee's time over the work period.
While overcoming the many disadvantages of the manual time tracking procedures, and being much more durable then traditional time clock apparatuses, the Jobclock™ also presents several drawbacks. Proprietary software protocol is used for tracking the time of each employee and for interfacing with the hand-held device. This has created incompatibility issues, which have increased over time.
Another drawback of the Jobclock™ apparatus is that the battery tends to fall out from the electrical contact periodically, and particularly in hotter weather, rendering the clock useless. Due to the design and configuration of the Jobclock™, it is very difficult to disassemble and then reassemble the clock in order to change or reinsert the battery. This is due to the need to disassemble several back plates, untwist the back plates from one another in one direction, and then during reassembly, fit the pieces together, properly align them, and twist them in the opposite direction. Those not familiar with the assembly of the Jobclock™ find it very difficult to disassemble and reassemble the apparatus. Due to the tendency for the battery to fall out from the electrical contact and the fact that the battery life is limited to no more than approximately four or five months, disassembly and reassembly must be undertaken periodically.
The Jobclock™ also includes an opening which serves as an audio outlet for a single tone buzzer to audibly indicate that a key has been detected and read. However, this opening permits water to enter into the clock which can create electrical shorts and operational problems.
When placing a touch button into contact with the clock, a single red light emitting diode visually indicates when the key is detected and read. However, this visual indicator is not visible when the key is brought to the detector area as it is immediately adjacent to the contact area. If the single audible tone is not heard, such as when placed against a wall or other flat surface, or otherwise not operational, there is confusion as to whether one has clocked in or out.
Another drawback of the Jobclock™ apparatus is that it only has the capacity of approximately 3500 time records. Due to the proprietary communication protocol and software, the download speed is relatively slow. Moreover, when the records are downloaded, they are not retrievable by the user from the Jobclock™ memory. If, for whatever reason, the time records are lost before being processed, they cannot be easily retrieved.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a time clock apparatus which automates the time keeping procedure, while being specifically designed for outdoor use, such as at job construction sites and the like, while overcoming the drawbacks of the existing time keeping apparatuses. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.